Man sentenced for raping, abducting teen from Texas to Los Angeles
The Department of Justice announced the sentencing of a Texas man who kidnapped a teenager at gunpoint, drove her across state lines to Los Angeles County and sexually assaulted her multiple times.
The girl was 13 years old.
On Friday, a judge sentenced 63-year-old Steven Robert Sablan to 35 years in federal prison and ordered him to pay $1,158 in restitution.
Charging documents stated that Sablan approached the young girl as she was walking on the street in San Antonio, Texas on July 6.
He allegedly pulled out a black handgun and told the victim to get in his car or else he would harm her. Fearing for her life, she complied, the DOJ said.
Officials said Sablan then asked the girl her age, to which she replied she was 13.
At one point she mentioned she had a friend in Australia, and Sablan apparently told her he could take her on a cruise ship to visit her friend, but she 'had to do something for him first.'
He then held her and drove her to Long Beach, using a gun to threaten and control her.
'[Sablan] violently abducted a child and repeatedly sexually assaulted her while driving her thousands of miles from her home,' prosecutors said in a sentencing memorandum. 'And while [Sablan] spent days abusing her for his own pleasure, her parents agonized over their missing child, fearing the worst. The worst was not far from reality.'
On the morning of July 9, Sablan parked his Nissan Sentra in a car lot in Long Beach and took their clothes to a laundromat. While he was inside, the girl scrawled a message for help on a piece of paper and tried desperately to get someone's attention.
A good Samaritan saw the note, acknowledged the girl and immediately called 911, according to the Long Beach Police Department.
Police responded and arrested Sablan. The predator was charged in July 2023 and pleaded guilty in January 2024.
Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
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USA Today
4 hours ago
- USA Today
President Trump is on a pardon spree
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It started on day one of the Trump administration with more than 1,500 people pardoned for their role in the January 6th Capitol Riot, and the pardons just keep coming. The past few weeks, we've seen a spate of controversial clemency grants, including a couple of reality TV stars who were found guilty of defrauding community banks out of tens of millions of dollars, a gang leader serving multiple life sentences, and a Virginia sheriff convicted of bribery in what prosecutors called a cash for badges scheme. The pardons are legal, but what are the ethical concerns here as President Donald Trump's list of pardons continues to grow? Here to dig into some of the details of the president's current pardon spree is former U.S. pardon attorney Liz Oyer. Thanks for joining me, Liz. Liz Oyer: Thanks for having me. Dana Taylor: Let's start off with full transparency here. You're suing the DOJ for your dismissal earlier this year. What's the background here, and can you please explain what the job of a U.S. pardon attorney is? Liz Oyer: I was fired in March from my position as pardon attorney, which is non-political position within the Department of Justice that is entrusted with reviewing applications for clemency from individuals around the country who are seeking that relief from the president and making recommendations to the President about who presents a worthy case for clemency. The position of pardon attorney is one that historically has been filled by a career employee of the Department of Justice, not a political appointee, to ensure that that position is one that is neutral and objective and that the clemency process is not fully politicized. Nevertheless, I was fired very abruptly in March, and my firing violated a whole host of civil service protections that apply to career employees. So I am appealing my termination to the Merit Systems Protection Board, which is the agency that's entrusted with adjudicating those types of issues. President Trump is on a pardon spree Trump's spate of controversial pardons hint at a two-tiered system of justice where only allies get clemency. Dana Taylor: There were some surprising pardons recently. We can't address them all, but I do want to discuss a handful. Let's start with Larry Hoover, a Chicago gang leader serving multiple life sentences for charges including murder, extortion, and money laundering. Trump can pardon whoever he wants. Do you worry he's not getting the best research for each case to determine if clemency is warranted? Liz Oyer: Well, the case of Larry Hoover is actually a very complex one. He has state convictions for an offense involving murder, and then he went on while in state prison to run a continuing criminal enterprise from the state prison, and he incurred additional federal convictions. So the federal convictions are the ones that were pardoned, not the state convictions. His sentence was commuted, and now he still has to deal with those state charges. But it is extremely unusual to grant a commutation of sentence to someone who goes on to commit a massive criminal offense while they're in prison. One of the things that's especially notable about Hoover's case is that he was serving his sentence at the federal super max prison. It's called ADX, it's a notorious prison where people who present challenging conduct in prison and need ultra restrictive conditions of confinement are housed. So the fact that he was granted a commutation by President Trump is very unusual and suggests that not a lot of weight is being placed on conduct in prison in considering who is worthy of a commutation of sentence. Dana Taylor: Many of these pardons are for people who owed significant sums of money and restitution for their crimes, Todd and Julie Chrisley, the reality TV stars, for example. What recourse do the people or entities who are due that money have, if any, and do you worry that Trump is granting clemency to people who don't show remorse? Liz Oyer: What the president has done in terms of using the pardon power to wipe out financial obligations that are owed to victims of crimes is unprecedented. The Chrisleys are one example among many of individuals who were required under federal law to pay what's called restitution, that means essentially paying back victims of crimes, but the pardons have the effect of wiping out that obligation to repay the victims, and those include people who are out of pocket very substantial sums. So that's an extremely unusual use of the pardon power, and it's one that really does prejudice the interests of people who have been victimized by crimes. Dana Taylor: And Liz, I mentioned former Virginia Sheriff Scott Jenkins at the top. He was convicted of receiving at least $75,000 in exchange for appointing North Virginia business executives as auxiliary deputies. He was scheduled to start a 10-year prison sentence the following day when the pardon came in. President Trump wrote on Proof social that he and his family were, "Dragged through hell by a corrupt and weaponized Biden DOJ." Do you worry that Trump is responding to personal emotional appeals rather than legal research? Liz Oyer: Trump does appear to be granting pardons to people in whom he sees something of his own story, something that he can relate to. But the case of Sheriff Jenkins was actually one that was a very straightforward case. He was caught on video accepting envelopes full of cash in exchange for bestowing badges upon people, so it's not a case where there was any doubt about his guilt. It is a case where the president decided to reward someone who was a political loyalist, and it's very unusual to see pardons of corrupt public officials in the way that Trump has been granting them. Sheriff Jenkins is actually one of, I believe, about eight public officials, elected officials, who have committed crimes involving an abuse of their official office who have received pardons from President Trump just in his second term alone. Dana Taylor: Why do you think it's important to have an independent set of eyes researching cases? Liz Oyer: What's so essential about the function that the Office of the Pardon Attorney has played historically is the vetting of candidates that they provide. The Department of Justice has a set of criteria that are very detailed and very rigorous that apply in every case before a recommendation is made to grant clemency. And in the interests of public safety, that vetting is taken very seriously so individuals who are not vetted won't get through this process. The vetting is an important component of it. And the other really important role that the Office of the Pardon Attorney has historically played is accessibility, making sure that the clemency process is accessible to all, not just those who have political connections, which unfortunately appear to be the only types of people who are getting clemency under the current administration. Dana Taylor: Paul Walczak, a former nursing home executive, also received a pardon. His mother recently attended a $1 million plate Mar-a-Lago fundraiser for Trump's Super PAC. Do you worry the president will grant clemency in exchange for gifts or even bribes? Liz Oyer: It appears that we're getting very close to that line. Individuals who are making large donations to the President or his causes are seeing those donations rewarded in the form of pardons. 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Liz Oyer: Absolutely the legitimacy of the pardon power has been called into question. I think that there are a lot of people in this country now who are watching what's happening and asking why does this power even exist? It is a power that has a great deal of potential to be used for good. We saw it at its height under President Obama who used it in a very principled and disciplined way to reduce sentences of people who were over-incarcerated due to outdated mandatory minimums, and he did that in a way that was very fair and consistent across the board and did a lot of good. But the way it's been used more recently and what Trump is doing with it now is really raising legitimate questions about whether this power is a good thing. Dana Taylor: Thank you so much for sharing your insights and for being on The Excerpt, Liz. Liz Oyer: Thank you very much for having me. Dana Taylor: Thanks to our senior producers, Shannon Rae Green and Kaely Monahan for their production assistance. Our executive producer is Laura Beatty. Let us know what you think of this episode by sending a note to podcasts@ Thanks for listening. I'm Dana Taylor. Taylor Wilson will be back tomorrow morning with another episode of The Excerpt.
Yahoo
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Newsweek
6 hours ago
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